Living Through the Ghost
by CheshireMidnight
Summary: Isabel knew the burden her secret carried with it, but she didn't dare tell anyone else. Will she be able to keep her secret burried and what will happen should it be discovered? Will her new teammates be able to uncover the dark truth of her past in time or is all hope truly lost? Slight AU post Infinity War. Reviews welcome and appreciated. (Loki/OC/Bucky)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

Isabel stared at the building before her with measured hesitation, but an encouraging hand on her shoulder quickly pulled her from her thoughts. Her attention turned to Clint who tossed her a friendly smile.

"You ready?" He asked angling his head toward the front door. The young woman's grip tightened slightly on her backpack strap and she gave a sharp nod, but the glint of fear in her eyes did not go unnoticed by her friend. He gave her arm a gentle squeeze before hoisting her duffel bag over his shoulder and leading the way into the compound. Just inside the doors Isabel froze and fought back the overwhelming urge to run and hide as her gaze drifted over the group gathered before them. Taking a deep, shaky breath she strode forward with a false air of confidence.

"It's nice to meet you; I'm Isabel." She said holding a hand out to the first person she came to.

"Steve Rogers; Clint's told us a lot about you. He said you have some military training?" The tall, handsome blonde greeted with a smile as he shook her hand. Pushing away the blush that threatened to paint its way across her cheeks she gave a small nod of conformation.

"Navy actually. My dad was a navy admiral and insisted my brother and I learn the basics for survival and self defense." Isabel affirmed, a slight hint of pride in her voice.

"Hey, makes our job easier." Another man said clapping an arm over Steve's shoulders.

"Isabel, this is Sam Wilson." Steve introduced the pair. Sam's grin grew wide and slightly playful as he looked down at her.

"Nice to have another pretty face around here. It gets pretty boring hanging around with these ugly mugs all the time." He joked giving Steve a light punch in the arm. Isabel couldn't help the soft chuckle that escaped her, but more importantly, she felt herself relax a bit. When Clint had first told her that they had approved her joining the team she had been apprehensive and expected the compound to be much like her father's naval base. Witnessing Steve and Sam's casual banter she realized that they weren't just a team, they were a family and it made her smile.

"Isabel, it's good to see you again." Natasha greeted with a hug, "This is Wanda and Vision." She said pulling another woman forward. Isabel smiled at Wanda and offered a hand, all traces of hesitation now gone.

"Nice to meet you both." She said. Once she had been introduced to everyone Natasha took her bags from Clint and lead Isabel to her room.

"I thought there were more of you." Isabel commented as they made their way up the stairs. Glancing back down at her teammates who were gathered in the foyer, Natasha nodded.

"Thor and the Guardians are off world, Bruce is busy helping Helen Cho and Shuri in the lab, & Scott, T'challa, Okoye, Peter, and Bucky are on a mission, but everyone will be back tonight. we're throwing you a welcome party, so you'll get to meet them all." Seeing how her introductions thus far had gone, Isabel now found herself intrigued by the idea of meeting the rest of the Avengers and their allies. Once in her room, Natasha left her to get settled in and relax for a bit before the party, but Isabel was too wired to relax and opted for focusing her energy on writing a letter to her mother. Time slipped by without her realizing it and it seemed like only minutes had passed when she heard a knock at her door. Not waiting for her friend to invite her in, Natasha opened the door and made her way to the closet. Isabel smirked as she watched her friend rummage through her closet until she found what she was looking for.

"Get dressed, it's time for your party." Nat said tossing the red, corseted, knee length halter dress at her as she left the room. A few minutes later Isabel stepped out of her room and Natasha smiled at her friend before leading the way to the commons area. A stunned hush fell over the room as everyone took in their new teammates gorgeous appearance. She had paired her dress with black, buckle strap stilettos, finger-less black biker gloves, and her signature hemp choker. Together with her hair styled back into a fanned bun and her precisely applied makeup, she truly was a sight to behold. Grabbing her friends hand, Natasha began taking her around the room introducing her to the rest of the Avengers and their friends. Isabel was grateful when the chatter throughout the room resumed and the party once again held a casual air. Finding the first chance she could to escape from Natasha she made her way to the bar and ordered her favorite drink. As Maria Hill prepared her drink she glanced around the room making note of who she had met and who she had yet to be introduced to. Isabel had just taken the first sip of her drink when a cool breath drifted past her ear.

"And who might you be, my goddess?" A silky voice whispered as she turned, finding herself face to face with the God of Mischief. She maintained a placid expression as he grinned, his emerald eyes boring into her as he leaned casually against the bar.

"You must be the woman I overheard my brother discussing with Agent Barton. I must admit, you are not as I expected." He said still smiling.

"I could say the same about you." Isabel replied taking another sip of her drink.

"Really? What, might I ask, were you not expecting?" He inquired, brow quirked in moderate curiosity.

"Honestly," she began as she replaced her glass on the bar and met his gaze with a sly grin, "I was expecting the God of Mischief to be a bit more, shall we say, intimidating." Her quick witted retort made Loki's grin falter momentarily before a spark of admiration had him leaning toward her. Stopping just inches away, he let his gaze drift over her before peering into the icy blue pools of her eyes.

"You continue to surprise. Not many are brave enough to insult me." He grinned wider, a slender hand rising to brush a strand of white blonde hair from her face. The feel of his icy fingers feathering over her cheek snapped Isabel from her daze and hatred blazed inside her. In one swift motion she snatched his hand away and twisted his arm sharply up behind his back until he dropped to his knees in defeat. Lost in what she was doing, Isabel failed to notice the stool she had been sitting on topple to the ground and draw the attention of everyone around them.

"Let's get one thing clear here, I know who you are, I know what you've done to my friends and my world. Just remember, it's only out of respect for Clint's friendship with your brother that I don't kill you!" She growled in his ear, unaware of the confused and surprised audience she had garnered. As Loki struggled and tried to rise to his feet she kicked his legs out from under him causing him to flip onto his back. Before he could move to get up she placed her foot on his chest, her stiletto heel pressing slightly against his jugular as he stared up at her with genuine fear.

"And you don't _**ever**_ touch me!" She finished, glaring down at him.

"Is everything alright here?" Steve asked putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. Turning to him, she finally noticed everyone watching them and removed her heel from Loki's throat.

"I see you're making new friends brother." Thor jested as he helped his brother to his feet. Looking over at Loki, Isabel could still see the hint of fear in his eyes as he quickly made his way outside to the balcony.

"Steve, I'm so sorry. Clint and Natasha warned me that Loki would be here; I should have known I would run into him at some point." She apologized, mentally scolding herself as she looked down at her feet.

"They told you about what he did to Clint before, didn't they?" Steve asked sympathetically. Clint had told him about their long friendship and, he had to admit, he understood her hatred towards someone who had hurt her friends. When Isabel didn't reply he moved his hand to the middle of her back and began guiding her across the room.

"Why don't you stick with me for now? I'll make sure he doesn't bother you." He suggested as they walked. Glancing around, Isabel spotted Natasha talking with Bruce and decided it best to take Steve's offer rather than interrupt.

"Isabel, nice to see you again! I was startin' to think Nat was tryin' to hide you from me." Sam greeted with a smile as the pair reached the sofas.

"What makes you think I wasn't hiding from you myself?" She asked with a joking smile as she sat down beside him and Steve took a seat at her other side.

"Damn! New girl's got some sass, I like it." Sam replied with a laugh.

"Hi, I'm Pepper." The woman seated across from Isabel greeted as she leaned forward to shake her hand.

"Tanis...oh, umm, sorry. I meant, I'm Isabel Tanis." Isabel said as she took the offered hand.

"I'm guessing introducing yourself with your last name is a military reflex?" Tony asked as Pepper leaned back into his arm.

"Yes, my dad always said that if you give your first name you give away too much about yourself. Only giving your last name allows you to stay disconnected. I guess old habits die hard." She explained, sheepishly avoiding eye contact.

"Well, I'm just glad to have someone my age around here." The young man beside Pepper piped up with a warm smile. Looking up from her hands, Isabel's brow quirked slightly as she took in the boys appearance. Finally realizing that he was indeed a teenager she smiled back and gave a soft chuckle.

"Umm...how old do you think I am?" She asked.

"Maybe 17, tops." The boy replied. She seemed to catch everyone off guard with her light and airy laugh before she settled into another warm smile.

"I guess I should take that as a compliment, but you're a few years off. I'm actually 25." She revealed.

"Wow! Well, either way, you're gorgeous!"

"Peter, I think she's a little too old for you." Pepper said flashing Isabel an apologetic smile.

"Lighten up, the kid's just sayin' what we're all thinking." Sam chimed in. Intrigued, she casually glanced at the men seated around her and quickly realized that Sam wasn't joking. Even the man seated in the chair at the end of the sofas glanced at her every now and then, his silent brooding demeanor intriguing her even more. She was so entranced by the mysterious man that she hardly even noticed Steve and Sam leave to get everyone more drinks. Glancing across the coffee table to the other sofa she found Tony, Pepper, and Peter wrapped up in their own conversation and found her own attentions drifting back to the silent stranger.

"Hi, we were never properly introduced, I'm Isabel." She said with a friendly smile as she moved to the end of the sofa beside him.

"Don't you mean Tanis?" He asked with a slightly playful grin as he looked up as her through a mess of dark bangs.

"I think I can trust you enough to know my name." She replied with a smile.

"You shouldn't do that; I can't even trust myself." He said with a frown as he rose from his seat, "You seem nice; you should keep your distance." Isabel was left to think over his words in a confused daze as he walked out of the room.

"Don't mind Sarge, he doesn't really let people in." Sam said as he handed her a drink.

"Was it something I said?" She asked, eyes still glued to the doorway.

"It's complicated." Steve said taking a seat in the now vacant chair, "Bucky's been through a lot over the years; he has a hard time getting to know new people." For the time being Isabel decided to drop the subject and lost herself in the party once again. Finally, around midnight, the party died down and she made her way back to her room. Before she could even change into her pajamas sleep swept over her, submersing her in the dark and twisted world of her nightmares. She could feel eyes on her before she had even opened her own and her fingers instinctively curled around the gun under her pillow. As her eyes slowly slid open she was met by the sight of the slender figure standing in her doorway, but her attention was quickly drawn away from him as she realized the skirt of her dress was now bunched up around her hip. Drawing her gun from its hiding place she braced herself, ready to attack if necessary.

"I can assure you I had nothing to do with that." Loki spoke with a grin.

"What do you want?" She asked pointedly as she glared at him.

"Stark sent me; I am to escort you to the gym so they can begin your training." He replied. With a heavy sigh she slid the gun back under the pillow and stood making her way to the closet.

"Stay there." She ordered as she turned on the light and stepped inside closing the door behind her. It only took a few minutes for her to change into her workout gear and make her way back out of the closet where Loki stood waiting. Walking past him she made her way out into the hall and waited for him to lead the way. She hated having to rely on someone she so despised, but he did know the compound better than she did and she was sure it would be frowned upon for her to arrive late to training. When they arrived at the gym Loki gave a deep bow as he held the door open for her and as she stepped past him into the room she had to resist to urge to knee him in the face. Instead she chose to ignore him and get to her training. Looking around the room she noted that it was fairly empty with only a few of her teammates there, but she smiled as she caught sight of Steve, Sam, and Bucky from across the room. Making her way over to the three men she silently crept up behind Sam and lightly tapped him on the shoulder waiting for what she knew would be an instinctual response. She ducked his right hook easily and swung her leg, taking his legs out from under him. Her hand caught his just before he hit the floor and she gave a soft chuckle at his startled expression.

"Well, that was fun. So, when does the training start?" She teased as she helped Sam regain his footing.

"I'm gonna have to keep my guard up with you around." He joked, still looking a little taken aback.

"Good luck, you'll never see me coming." She replied giving him a light punch to the arm.

"Good to see you're so eager to start training; we'll start with cardio. There's a trail through the woods that circles around the lake, think you can keep up with us?" Steve asked as they walked to the door.

"Even I can't keep up with you two." Sam reminded Steve as they headed out the back doors to the field that lay between the compound and the small strip of forest. As they made their way to the trail, Isabel fell into a comfortable silence, her mind drifting between listening to her companions and wondering if Clint or Natasha had told anyone her secret.

"Hey, you alright?" Sam asked snapping her out of her daze with a nudge to her arm.

"Yeah...sorry about that." She replied shaking the distracting thoughts from her mind. She found herself unable to hide the smile that came to her lips as she stepped past the last of the trees and saw a beautiful lake laid out before her.

"Wow! Clint mentioned the lake, but this is absolutely amazing!" A tidal wave of joy washed over her as she looked out across the small dock, the crystal clear water, and the small island raising an enormous weeping willow out of the center of it all. Remembering that she was supposed to be training, she made a mental note to come back with her sketchbook and turned her attention back to the three men who were now staring at her. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks, but before the blush could spread she quickly turned on her heel and took off down the path that circled the lake. Turning around a few yards away she laughed at the men's surprised faces as she continued to run backward.

"Come on slowpokes." She teased with a wide grin that only grew as Steve and Sam gave each other a challenging glace before taking off toward her. Isabel laughed as they flew past her and she turned slightly to watch their antics. As they rounded the bend at the edge of the water Isabel was struck by a sudden thought and stopped running to look back to where they had come through the trees.

"Are you okay?" She asked, touching Bucky's arm lightly to get his attention. She was admittedly a bit surprised when he didn't jump at her sudden appearance at his side. Glancing at her from the corner of his eye he decided it best to stay silent and hope that she would begin running with his friends. He scoffed as the word crossed his mind; how did he deserve friends after the things he had done? Isabel was glad that he hadn't seemed to notice her wince before dropping her hand from his arm.

"I figured out who you are, who you used to be. I know that's why you told me to keep my distance, but I would prefer it if we could be friends." She said softly, remembering to choose her next words very carefully, "I know you probably think you don't deserve friends, but that's not true. Steve and Sam are your friends, Clint and Natasha consider you a friend."

"Killers don't get to have friends." He said flatly.

"But people who have been hurt do. Just remember that all those things that happened, that was HYDRA, not you. Maybe when you understand that you'll let people in." She said flashing him a soft smile as she backed away before running after their friends. Bucky watched for a few minutes as she caught up to Steve who was waiting for Sam to catch his breath. Her laugh carried to him over the water as she playfully made fun of Sam, but he noted when it abruptly stopped as he walked back towards the compound. Isabel frowned as she watched Bucky duck back into the woods and took note to talk to Steve about it later. A few hours later they made their way back to the compound and as they went their separate ways to relax before returning to the gym Isabel decided it was time to talk to Steve. Placing a hand on his arm she drew his attention away from the stairs and waited until Sam was out of earshot.

"Steve, I wanted to ask you about Bucky. I know all the stuff the news said about him, but why does he still keep people out? When I try talking to him he just tells me to stay away. Is he always like that or is it just me?" She asked. Steve could feel her unease and placed a kind hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, I'm sure that if you keep talking to him he'll realize that you're trying to be his friend. He still has some trouble when it comes to interacting with people, so don't take it personally; he'll come around." He reassured her with a warm smile. With one last gentle squeeze of her shoulder he headed up the stairs leaving her to make her way to the kitchen. Isabel was quietly pleased to find the kitchen empty and set to work finding something to eat, but her search was short lived when the only food she found was left over pizza from her welcoming party. Grabbing a slice from the box she hopped up on the counter and pulled out her phone to start a shopping list. Back in the gym her training became more of a demonstration as Steve assessed her combat skills, but she didn't mind as it gave her time to think and she remembered that she needed to discuss a few things with Clint and Natasha. When training had ended she quickly found the pair and ushered them to a secluded area where she hoped no one would overhear them.

"I have to know exactly what all you've told everyone." She asked urgently after making sure there were no cameras.

"We only told them what you approved, they don't know anything else." Nat assured.

"Good," Isabel breathed a sigh of relief, "the last thing I want is more people worrying about me."

"You know you aren't going to be able to hide it from them forever." Clint added crossing his arms over his chest. Isabel knew he didn't approve of her keeping something from the team and she knew he was right, but she trusted him enough not to tell anyone.

"It's not forever, Clint; just till I die." She tried to joke, but as he turned and walked away she knew she shouldn't have made light of the situation; she knew how badly it was effecting her two closest friends.

"Isabel, you know it bothers him when you joke about that." Nat scolded with a frown before following him down the hall. Isabel stared after her friends as they left, feeling the emptiness close in around her.

"But it's true, it really isn't forever." She said somberly to the now empty hallway before heading to her room. Again her sleep was a turbulent string of nightmares that had her tossing and turning all through the night, making the emerald eyes that watched her from the shadows blaze with a mixture of curiosity and worry. Stepping to the bedside Loki brushed a cool hand over her forehead smoothing strands of sweat drenched hair from her face.

"What secrets are you hiding?" He whispered to himself, watching her intently.


	2. Chapter 2

(Authors Note: Just wanted to let you know that I will be doing my best to post a new chapter each week, but as this is not my only fanfic currently in progress there may be some delays. As always I would love to read any reviews so feel free to review.

PS: If you are a fan of Disney's Descendants please be on the lookout for my new story due to post the first chapter in the next few days.

Thanks much love,

Cheshire)

 **Chapter 2**

Isabel felt as though she was falling as the darkness swallowed her into her nightmares, but she had been plagued by them for so long that she no longer fought the darkness. As the dark around her dissipated she found herself standing on a dimly lit street and quickly looked around; she was completely alone as the sky above her swirled with heavy clouds. A shiver ran down her spine as she realized that she knew this place and the tears began welling up behind her eyes.

"Oh god, please no!" She pleaded taking a staggered step backwards as she stared up at her childhood home. Turning around she prepared to run only to find her feet unable to move. Looking down she saw the shadowy tendrils wrapped around her ankles and felt her blood run cold. A scream tore from her throat as the tendrils ripped her off her feet and dragged her into the house. Inside the tendrils receded back into the shadows and Isabel rose to her feet to look around. She knew better than to try the door knowing it would be locked, it was always locked. The panic inside her rose as she started into the living room, following the sound of an oven opening and a woman softly humming. As she came the doorway she saw her grandmother pulling a sheet of cookies from the oven as a younger version of herself stood on the stool beside the counter and tried to grab one.

"Not yet sweetheart, they have to cool first." Her grandmother smiled as the little girl giggled and hopped off the stool. Isabel felt the hot tears running down her cheeks as she turned to look back at the door just as it was kicked in. Back in the kitchen her grandmother ushered her younger self into the cupboard and told her to stay there and not to come out no matter what she heard or saw through the slatted door. Isabel watched, frozen, as the gunman walked through her into the kitchen aiming at the old woman. The gunshot was deafening as her grandmother's lifeless body fell to the floor between the table and the cupboard. Just like that the gunman was gone and Isabel watched as her grandmother's blood flowed silently under the door, remembering the feeling of it pooling around her bare feet. Closing her eyes tightly she fought back the tears before walking toward the cupboard, the scent of chocolate and copper mixing in her nostrils as she passed the blood splattered cookies on the counter. Her hand trembled as she reached for the door handle, but she knew that the only way out was to keep moving forward. Bright light washed over her as she opened the door and stepped through into the next memory. It was a beautiful day at her family's summer home, but she knew what awaited her as she walked toward the house. As she drew closer she could hear the happy laughter of her brother as he played in the back yard with their dogs. Even without her nightmares she remembered this day all too well and knew that her mother was out back gardening. It had started out as such a happy day, but she had learned the day her grandmother had died that even the happiest days could change in an instant. The tense feeling in her chest spread, making it hard to breath as she walked into the house and headed to her parents room upstairs. As the door swung open she felt her heart breaking and the tears began to soak her cheeks all over again.

"Daddy?" She heard behind her as her sixteen year old self stepped into the room. Her father turned slowly, his pistol resting on his leg as he gave her a weak smile.

"Go back outside, baby doll." He said softly, but even from across the room Isabel could see the red puffiness of his eyes and the salty trails painting their way down his cheeks.

"Okay," younger Isabel said uncertainly, pausing to look back at her dad, "I love you, dad."

"I love you too, baby, always. I'm so sorry, baby doll." She heard her dad say softly. She wanted to scream at her younger self to turn around, to run back and take the gun away from him, but she had tried that before. She had screamed herself hoarse trying to get her younger self's attention, but it never worked and now, as she looked back at her dad, all feeling abandoned her in an attempt to protect her from what was about to happen. She felt empty as she watched him put the barrel of the gun in his mouth just as her younger self reached the top of the stairs.

"Daddy!" Her scream mixed with the sound of the gun going off and the tears flooded down her cheeks as her younger self ran back into the room and collapsed at the foot of the bed. She watched, lost in anguish as the other her hugged her dad's legs desperately trying to will him back to life. It felt like an eternity passed before she was finally able to pull herself away from the door frame and make her way down the hall to her bedroom. Pushing the door open she stepped through, leaving the memory behind as she found herself standing before an empty grave. The rain poured around her as she raised her eyes to read the name on the headstone. It was her own and she fell to her knees as two figures stepped forward and wrapped their arms around her drooping shoulders.

"It's time to go, sweetheart." Her grandmother said as she stood and stepped over to the grave to their right. Isabel's gaze drifted up once more as she watched her grandmother's ghost evaporate into the rain. Her dad stepped forward next taking his place to her left and lifting his hand for her to take.

"You coming, baby doll?" He asked as she stared at him. She paused for a moment, her hand only inches from his as she contemplated giving in and going with them. Shaking her head she withdrew her hand just as every time before and looked up at him in desperation.

"Daddy, I'm so scared. What about mom and Ty? I'm not ready, daddy. I'm sorry." She sobbed as more tears soaked her face. Reaching down her dad put his hand on her cheek and brushed a tear away as he smiled at her.

"It's okay, you know we'll be here for you when you are. I love you, baby doll." He said with a smile before he too evaporated.

Loki gently brushed his hand over Isabel's cheek, surprised to find her face drenched in tears, as she let out a small fearful whimper. Sensing that she was waking he stepped away into the shadows feeling a pang of guilt as he left her to her demons.

"Daddy!" She cried out as her upper body launched forward off of the bed. She gasped for breath as her mind reeled in the wake of the nightmare. Finally realizing that she was indeed back in her room she ran a hand through her sweat drenched hair and pulled her knees to her chest as sobs sent tremors throughout her body. She could faintly sense that someone was close by, maybe even in her room, but in that moment she found herself unable to care. Her heart ached as her dad's face flashed behind her closed eyelids.

"I'm sorry, daddy, I'm not ready to go yet. I know it'll happen before long, but I'm so afraid. I don't want to die, daddy." She said softly into her knees. Little did she know that her words had reached the keen ears of her shadowed observer who raised a curious brow as she made her way into the bathroom. Stepping out of his hiding place Loki eyed the closed door wishing he could ask her what her nightmare had been about, why she had been crying, but he knew that rather than welcoming his concern he would most likely be met with immeasurable hostility. With a resigned sigh he left the room hoping one day he would understand what she had meant. Isabel stood in the shower letting the hot water run over her body as she leaned one arm against the wall. True, she was used to the nightmares, but that didn't mean that it ever got easier or that the pain ever lessened. She knew that some day she wouldn't be able to say no, she knew that some day she would have to take her father's hand and follow him into the void that awaited her.

"I miss you so much, daddy." She whispered into the steam around her. She wasn't sure how long she just stood there under the water, but as she made her way back to her bed she felt the remaining fatigue from her restless sleep wrapping around her like a blanket. Curling up in bed she hoped for a peaceful sleep, but as the world around her once again grew dark she knew that luck was not with her. The alarm sounded all too soon, though she felt as if she had been trapped in her nightmares for days. Rolling over her hand collided with the alarm clock sending it flying into the wall across the room.

"Shit." She groaned as it shattered against the wall. Sitting up, she ran a hand over her face and surveyed the broken electronic from across the room, momentarily considering going back to sleep and skipping training. It was with a heavy sigh that she threw her comforter back and swung her legs off the side of the bed. Steve wouldn't be very happy if she were to skip out on her second day of training so she set to work getting ready to head to the gym. Loki had only just raised his hand to the door when it swung open revealing Isabel dressed for training, but now all the god of mischief could see was the frightened sleeping woman from the night before. His hand still raised, he simply stared at her for a moment fighting the part of himself that wanted to brush his fingers over her cheek again. Quickly clearing his throat he straightened and lowered his hand in a gesture for her to go ahead of him. He was quiet as they walked to the gym, but given her restless night Isabel opted to ignore his strange behavior and focus on her training. Again she, Steve, and Sam went for a run around the lake and again she demonstrated her skills in the gym; it wasn't until she was headed to the kitchen that Bucky's absence dawned on her and she wondered where he had been.

"Oh, Pepper!" She called as she made her way toward the front doors later that evening. The red haired woman stopped at the base of the stairs and looked up from the file in her hands. Isabel jogged over to her, but paused to look out the doors where Nat stood by her car waiting.

"Umm, I was wondering if there were any foods that you know of that anyone won't eat or foods that they prefer." She asked cautiously. She was admittedly surprised when Pepper simply smiled and handed her a folded piece of paper and a credit card.

"There's a list of everyone's allergies and some suggestions on what they like. The card is to an account I set up especially for the compounds food budget. Tony only ever orders pizza and no one else likes grocery shopping so there's about $5,000 on there." She explained at Isabel's puzzled expression.

"Pepper, I can't possibly use your money, especially not that much." Isabel objected, but Pepper cut her off with a laugh and a wave of her hand.

"Don't worry about it; if you don't use it it'll just sit there and build up. Besides, it's technically Tony's money." She added with a wink as she made her way up the stairs. Isabel stared at the card in her hands for a moment longer before heading out to meet Natasha at the car. It was some time later that they made their way back to the compound where, after six trips back to the car, they managed to get everything to the kitchen. As Nat left to take a shower Isabel set to work putting everything away and setting out what she wanted to make for dinner.

"Where's the pizza at?" Sam asked as everyone made their way into the commons area to find Pepper sitting on the sofa.

"Sorry, but the days of having pizza every night are over." She said as she stood, pulling Tony's phone from her pocket as she did. Snatching it from her hand Tony gave her a puzzled look and followed her as she left the room.

"I'm sick of all of us living on pizza, so starting tonight we're going to start having real meals around here." Pepper explained as everyone followed her to the large dining room that half of the team had honestly never seen. A collective feeling of shock and awe passed through everyone as they saw the delicious foods covering the table.

"Okay, I'm not paying for a cook, so how did you pull this off? When did we even get groceries?" Tony questioned turning to Pepper.

"We went shopping earlier and fully stocked the kitchen; Isabel's the one who cooked." Natasha said as she walked in from the kitchen followed by Isabel carrying a stack of plates and silverware.

"You made all of this?" Steve asked, wide eyed. Isabel felt her cheeks warming and shrugged as she began setting the table.

"Well I wanted to do something to show my thanks. You've all been so nice to me even though I have the least training and can't really help out that much." She said as everyone filed in and took their seats. It was quiet as she filled each of their plates before getting her own food and taking a seat between Steve and Sam.

"Wow, Isabel, this is amazing!" Peter exclaimed as he took a bite. Isabel simply watched with a quiet smile as everyone enjoyed their meal and fell into casual conversations, but she couldn't help noticing that two people remained silent. Loki and Bucky spoke to no one as they ate and she occasionally caught one of them glancing her way, but decided that they were most likely just being their normal brooding selves. Once everyone had finished eating Natasha and Pepper helped her get the dishes to the kitchen and put the leftovers away, but she waved them away from the sink full of dishes telling them that she would take care of them when she got up in the morning. Her bedroom was pitch black when she awoke aside from the glow of her alarm clock that showed 12:23am meaning she had only been asleep for just over two and a half hours. Laying back on her pillow she let her forearm rest on her forehead that was now drenched with sweat; the nightmares always got worse when she moved to a new place. The clock read 1:07am when she check it again; she had been trying for half an hour to get back to sleep, but it was a sleep that refused to come. Finally giving up she climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom to wash her face before heading to the kitchen, if she couldn't sleep she may as well do something useful with her time. As she walked down the hall past everyone's sleeping quarters her keen ears caught the sound of a faint thump coming from one of the rooms. It wasn't until she was about to pass the door that she realized the sound had come from Bucky's room. After a moments thought she stopped and gave a soft knock waiting a minute before knocking again. She was about to leave when she heard a quiet voice from the other side of the door beckon her to come in.

"Hey Bucky, it's just me. I heard a noise, are...are you okay?" Isabel asked as she slowly opened the door. Bucky looked up from where he sat on the edge of his bed, a bit surprised to see the young woman now standing in his doorway, and cautiously slid his gun back into its holster hanging on the bed post. Isabel didn't miss the ever so slight movement as he put his gun away and frowned deeply taking a cautious step into the room.

"Do you always have nightmares?" She asked, remembering how many times she had been woken up by her father having nightmares, and how many times she had been awoken by her own.

"Not always." Bucky replied, combing his metal hand through his hair as he leaned forward. Walking forward Isabel placed a soft hand on his shoulder to get his attention and smiled as he looked up at her.

"When my dad would have nightmares I would make him hot cocoa; why don't you let me make you some? I'm headed to the kitchen anyway." She said gently urging him to his feet, pleased that he wasn't objecting.

"So, why are you awake?" He asked, taking a seat at the island counter when they reached the kitchen. Isabel hesitated briefly in her search for ingredients, but hoped he hadn't noticed as she set the ingredients on the counter and pulled out a small pot.

"I have insomnia, so I don't really sleep a lot." She said as she mixed the milk, chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon in the pot and waited for it to boil. They both fell into a comfortable silence until the hot cocoa was done and Isabel placed Bucky's mug in front of him.

"Want some?" She asked pulling a can of whipped cream from the fridge. He gave a small nod in reply and watched as she stood on her tip toes to reach his mug.

"You're tiny." He chuckled as she topped the cocoa. She looked up a bit surprised by his remark before giving a lighthearted laugh causing him to meet her gave.

"Well, maybe you're just really tall." She said, catching him off guard as she sprayed a tiny bit of whipped cream on the end of his nose. She laughed louder at his surprised expression and turned in one swift motion to her her own mug sitting on the counter behind her. She missed Bucky's smile as he wiped the topping from his nose and licked it from his fingertip, but as she turned around to face him again she noticed his mood become somber once more and his eyes drop to the mug between his hands.

"So, your dad had PTSD?" He asked. Isabel was happy he was looking down and unable to notice her tense slightly at the mention of her father.

"Yeah, it got pretty bad sometimes. He never really talked about any of it, but I was the only one that could ever get him to calm down." She explained as his gaze lifted to her face in gentle curiosity.

"When he first came home from deployment my mom would try to make him his favorite foods, but he didn't trust anyone; he thought she was trying to poison him. If he had a nightmare or a flashback he would become violent and no one could go near him. My mom decided to bring me home from private school to help with things around the house, but when I came home dad changed, he was more like his old self again. He used to say that I brought the light back, used to call me his north star. When I made him food or cocoa he would eat, so I decided not to go back to my school. Thankfully they let me finish out my schooling in online classes so I was able to stay with him." Bucky watched as a sad smile came to Isabel's lips and her icy blue eyes became dark and clouded with memory.

"What happened to him?" He asked, recognizing her broken expression, it was the look of someone who had lost everything.

"He killed himself." She admitted softly. It was the first time she had told anyone about her father's suicide outside of her closest friends and family, but she felt strangely at ease telling Bucky. She was lost in memory when the sudden feeling of something cold touching her hand made her look up to find his metal hand over hers. Following the lines of his muscles she looked up to his shoulder and bit the edge of her lip lightly.

"Does it still hurt?" She asked as he followed her gaze.

"Not so much, not since Shuri made my new arm, they removed a lot of the scar tissue." He said softly, watching her fingers trace over the cool metal to where it met flesh. He winced as he realized he had worn a tank to bed that night, but the sad look in Isabel's eyes made his chest ache with something other than fear.

"Thanks for the cocoa. I'm going back to bed." He said quickly as he suddenly stood and left the room. Isabel stared blankly at the untouched mug on the counter, her hand still hanging in the air as he left her wondering what had just happened. Bucky trudged down the hall and threw his door open before slamming it closed behind himself. Safe inside his room he leaned back against the door and slid down to the floor throwing his head back against the wood with a satisfying thump.

"What am I doing?" He scolded himself rubbing his metal hand down over his face. Pausing, he moved his hand back and inspected it, his chest tightening as he remembered the feeling of her hand on his arm. Her touch had been feather light, but the sensors in his prosthetic had still been able to pick it up and relay the feeling to his nerves and he felt a small shiver run up his spine as he thought of how gentle she had been. It seemed that keeping her at a distance was going to prove more difficult than he had originally thought. In the kitchen Isabel watched Bucky's forgotten cocoa as she finished her own. Grabbing his mug from the counter she felt a small spark as her hand covered the same space his had just minutes earlier and she could swear she still felt the warmth from his hand on the mug. She watched the chocolate swirl down the drain thinking back on how close they had been and the way his metal arm had felt under her hand and felt the heat rise in her cheeks. Closing her eyes she gripped the edge of the sink and tried to shake the thought from her mind.

"I'm such an idiot; I can't get attached. It's bad enough that I'm putting Clint and Natasha through all of this, but I can't put him through that." She sighed heavily. She couldn't put someone like Bucky through something so painful, but at the same time she knew that she couldn't tell him her secret either. She couldn't tell anyone her secret.


	3. Chapter 3

(Authors Note: Sorry for the delay! I really wanted to have this chapter done and posted much sooner than this, but due to the holiday season my work schedule has been a bit crazy. I'm hoping to be able to post chapter 4 by next Sunday, but please know that if I'm unable to post Sunday I will be sure to post the new chapter by Wednesday. Please read and review and thank you for your understanding and patience.

Much love,

Cheshir)

Three weeks had passed since the night in the kitchen with Bucky and, aside from the occasional friendly greeting in the halls, they seemed to be doing well avoiding each other. Isabel had grown accustomed to her new life rather quickly and was comfortable with her new routine of training, making dinner, grocery shopping, and the occasional down time she managed to get. There had been a few moments that she even managed to forget about the secrets she was keeping, that is until she went to sleep. Each night the nightmares came and each night Isabel awoke in a cold sweat, secret eyes always watching from the shadows of her darkened room. It was late one evening after a particularly bad nightmare when Tony assembled the team for a mission briefing. Apparently after the Thanos crisis they had set their sights on wiping out any remaining HYDRA factions and Tony had just uncovered one hiding in southeast Germany. Once everyone had been briefed on the situation Steve gave them a thirty minute window to get ready before boarding the jet. Isabel was ready in fifteen and made her way to the hangar where she was rather surprised to find that only Clint and Natasha had arrived.

"Isabel, are you sure it's a good idea for you to be out in the field?" Nat asked as her friend tucked her bag into the cubbyhole behind her seat.

"I have it under control." Isabel assured her friend with a soft smile, but Nat noticed as it wavered slightly and put a kind hand on her shoulder.

"Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing if she slipped. Then we wouldn't have to keep it secret anymore." Clint said from the pilot's seat. Isabel flinched at the bitterness in his tone as Nat shot him an unnoticed glare. She knew the strain she was putting on her friends asking them to keep her secret, but, now that she had met and become friends with the rest of the team, how could she put more people through that pain. She was all too aware of how heavily it weighed on Clint as he had known her the longest and she hated putting him through something so tragic. The three friends settled into a heavy silence as the rest of the team began to arrive and prepare for their mission. Their team for this particular mission consisted of Isabel, Clint, Nat, Steve, Tony, Sam, and Bucky and as the jet took off from the hangar Steve began his Captain duties of assigning everyone a partner to watch their back.

"Isabel, since I've handled most of your training, you'll stick with me." Steve's voice registered faintly in the back of Isabel's mind, but, lost in deep thought, she found herself unable to give any sign of recognition.

"Hey, you alright?" Sam asked beside her. The far off look in her eyes softened slightly as she came back to herself and turned to her friend with a half hearted smile.

"Yeah, I guess I'm just nervous." She lied not wanting to worry him. Everything around her faded and blurred together until they finally reached their destination. Clint remained in the pilot's seat in order to make for a quick getaway if needed while everyone else made their way off the jet.

"You ready?" Steve asked as she slid her guns into the holsters at her hips. She replied with a simple nod though her heart raced in her chest. As they stealthily approached the bunker Isabel couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong and her eyes began to scan around them in all directions.

"Get down!" She shouted as her eyes caught the glint of green metal flying toward them through the air. The team scattered just as the grenade landed where they had been standing, sending chunks of earth spraying in every direction. HYDRA soldiers were upon them before they had even fully recovered, but each of them held their own as well as keeping an eye out for the rest of their teammates. It was in the midst of the fighting that Steve took off deeper into the woods in persute of one of the soldiers leaving Isabel at the edge of the group to fend for herself. She watched as he disappeared from her line of sight, but wasn't conserned as she was doing rather well against the HYDRA men, that is until her gun was knocked from her hand. The man she was fighting brought the butt of his gun up in one swift motion striking her jaw and knocking her to the ground. Her hand reflexively went to her jaw, clutching it in pain as she looked up to see the soldier pull a hunting knife from his belt and advance at her. Isabel was momentarily frozen as the small distance between them rapidly gew smaller, but just before he reached her a large figure stepped between them shielding her. Bucky grabbed the soldiers wrist in his metal hand, twisting his arm until he relinquished his hold on the knife. He knew in that moment that he resembled something of the Winter Soldier and found he was glad she couldn't see his face. He released the soldiers arm and with a sharp kick to the chest sent him flying a few feet away before turning and extending his hand to Isabel.

"Stay close." He ordered, pulling her to her feet and placing her gun firmly back in her hand. All she could manage was a small nod as she stared at Bucky in a mix of confusion and awe; she wasn't sure why, but he was the last person she had expected to rescue her. On his order she stayed close by his side as they made their way to the bunker. After clearing the area outside they made their way in and headed for the room Tony had determined the leader was hiding in. Steve was the first through the door with everyone else filing in behind him, but they were all equally shocked to find a man looking to be in his mid fourties sitting casually in a chair reading a book. As Steve went into one of his customary Captain America speeches Isabel's eyes scanned every detail of the scene before her. She noted how the man sat angled slightly away from the door, how his posture reeked of pompus superiority, how the red, leatherbound book in his hands seemed familiar as though she had seen a picture of it somewhere. The man continued to read ignoring Steve as he stepped closer, but as the first word finally escaped his mouth Isabel knew where she had seen the book.

"No!" Bucky whispered as his eyes grew in fear. His gaze shifted to the nearest person, Isabel, and as their eyes met she could almost hear his silent screams for help. Spinning on her heel she ran past Steve and toward the man seated across the room. He rose as she closed in, but continued to recite the Russian words as he drew a gun from under his coat and fired. She didn't notice the bullet graze her as she knocked his arm aside and grabbed the front of the mans shirt bending him forward as her knee came up, striking him three times in the chest.

"That's enough from you." She almost growled as she let him fall to the floor gasping for breath. Leaning down she swiped the book from the ground before marching back to the team.

"He's all yours, Steve." She said over her shoulder as she handed the book to Bucky, igoring the surprised looks from the rest of the team.

"You're hit." Bucky stated with a frown as he noticed the blood running down her arm. Twisting her shoulder slightly to get a better look Isabel pulled the frayed fabric back to see a deep gouge where the bullet had grazed.

"It's alright, just a flesh wound." She assured, but as she looked back at Bucky her reassuring smile fell under his sad yet stern expression.

"Isabel's hurt; I'm taking her back to the jet." He said loud enough to make it clear he was speaking to Steve though his eyes never left the woman in front of him.

"Alright, just be careful. We'll finish up here and meet you back there." Steve replied as he hauled the HYDRA leader to his feet. Bucky grabbed the wrist of Isabel's uninjured arm and began heading back to the jet before another word could be said.

"Bucky, really, I'm fine." She insisted as they made their way back outside. He remained silent as he continued to pull her back toward the jet and Isabel felt the anger rising in her until she finally snapped and ripped her arm from his grip causing him to spin around to face her.

"Why are you making such a big deal about this? It's not that bad, but you're acting like it's the end of the world!" She snapped, though she was surprised to see her own anger reflected back at her in Bucky's eyes.

"You got hurt because of me, so it is a big deal!" He shouted, quickly looking away before he saw her expression change to one of pained understanding and regret. In the silence they both mentally scolded themselves; Isabel for not realizing why he was upset and Bucky for letting her get hurt and yelling at her.

"I told you to steer clear of me. I knew you would get hurt just like everyone else does." Bucky said, his jaw clenched in frustration as he turned back in the direction of the jet. He had only managed to take a few step when a gentle hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Bucky, I didn't get hurt _because_ of you, I got hurt _for_ you. We're all a team, and I know I haven't been a part of it long, but I would do the same for any of the others." Isabel smiled softly as Bucky turned to face her once more, "My dad always told me we take care of our friends and family and we protect them any way we can. I've read your file and Steve's told me how much progress you've made since you escaped HYDRA, how you've become almost like your old self again. I know what it's like to lose yourself, I watched my dad go through it up until the day he died, so I'm not going to let some Nazi asshole take that away from you again and turn you into something you're not. If that means taking a bullet for you once in a while then I would happily do it if it means you don't have to go through that again."

"How can you act so careless? You could get yourself killed thinking like that." He said softly as a heavy frown pulled the corners of his mouth down and his sorrowful eyes met hers, but she simply smiled and squeezed his shoulder lightly.

"Then at least I'd die for a good cause, after all it's better to die for something than nothing." She said. Bucky felt his heart clench at how easily she talked about dying and he could see a sadness deep in her eyes before she brushed past him toward the jet.

"What happened?" Clint asked, rushing to Isabel as they boarded the jet.

"I was just grazed, but Bucky insisted on bringing me back here to get it patched up." She said as he inspected the wound and guided her to seat.

"What stupid thing did you do this time?" The archer asked as he pulled out a med kit and began cleaning her arm.

"Stood up for a friend." She replied with a smile as her eyes shifted to Bucky who was watching Clint closely. At her reply Clint's focus broke away from what he was doing to shift between his two teammates. He noted the bright warmth in Isabel's smile, it was one he hadn't seen her use since her dad had passed away, and he noted how, although Bucky avoided looking at her directly, he watched her closely to make sure she was alright. Watching the silent exchange between the two sparked a small flame of hope in Clint as he realized that Bucky may be the answer to his prayers. Isabel didn't notice her life long friends sly grin as he finished bandaging her arm as her own attention was drawn to Bucky as he stared at the red book. Her heart ached as she caught the slight tremble in his hands and the pained, far away look in his eyes before he tucked the book into his jacket and leaned his head back as his eyes slid closed. As Clint slid the med kit back into its cubbyhole Isabel rose from her seat and crossed the jet to take a seat beside the super soldier.

"Are you okay?" She asked putting a hand on his arm. His head was still leaned back as he turned slightly to look at her and she felt her heart race as his dark teal eyes met her icy blue ones.

"Sorry for yelling back there, I really should have been thanking you. If you hadn't acted as quickly as you did who knows what might have happened. I could have become the Winter Soldier again. I could have killed any of you." He said softly. Isabel felt her chest knot in hesitation as her hand drifted down his arm, but her softer side ultimately won out and she allowed her hand to cover his.

"You may want me to keep my distance, but I would really like for us to be friends and I promise you that for as long as I'm around you will never have to worry about becomeing him again." Her eyes moved from their hands back to his face to find him staring at her, but she found herself unable to place the emotion she saw in his eyes. Her attention was drawn away from him, however, as Steve and the rest of the team boarded the jet with the HYDRA leader in tow. Isabel was unaware of the frown that found its way to Bucky's lips as she rose from her seat and the warmth of her hand leaving his made his skin feel as cold as its metal counterpart. It honestly took him a moment to realize that she had now shifted herself between him and their new prisoner, protectively blocking him from the HYDRA leaders view as she stared the man down. Despite the obvious pain he was in, the man simply grinned back at her until Steve shoved him sharply down into one of the empty seats before approaching Isabel.

"Tony says you broke six of his ribs." He informed her, looking down at Bucky seated behind her.

"He deserved worse." She growled, her eyes boring into the man until he turned away. Her demeanore didn't go unnoticed as Steve put a hand on her shoulder and gave a small smile.

"Why don't you take my seat; I need to talk to Clint anyway." He offered and before she could protest he made his way to the front of the jet. Finally allowing herself to relax some she took the offered seat beside Bucky as the jet lifted into the air. With the rest of the team and their prisoner present Bucky and Isabel now found themselves trapped in an awekward silence that weighed heavily in the air, not just for them, but for everyone around them as well. A collective sigh of relief rose up from the group as they arrived home and exited the jet. Isabel chanced a glance back at Bucky as she made her way down the ramp and saw that he and Steve seemed to be engaged in a heated conversation. Realizing she forgot her bag, she made her way back on board and took advantage of the closer proximity to listen in to what they were arguing about and was surprised to find that they were talking about her.

"Buck, she did fine today." Steve said, but Bucky quickly shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

"That's not the point, Steve. You're the one that put us in pairs in he first place, to watch each others backs, but then you leave her alone. If I hadn't been there she could have..." Bucky trailed off unable to finish his sentence.

"Buck, why is this bothering you so much?" Steve asked putting a hand on his friends shoulder, but was shocked when he immediately batted the hand away.

"I swear, Steve, if anything happens to her..." Bucky said through clenched teeth as he shot the other man a cold glare. Steve had never seen his friend act this way, but their attentions were quickly diverted as they both noticed something move out of the corner of their eye. Turning, they found Isabel standing a few feet away staring at them as she held her bag close against her chest and began chewing her bottom lip nervously. Raking his metal hand through his hair, Bucky gave a heavy sigh before grabbing his own bag and walking past her into the hangar.

"Steve, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to cause an argument between you two." She said as Steve watched Bucky leave before approaching her.

"It's alright, not your fault. How's your arm?" He asked looking down at her.

"I'll live if that's what you're worried about, Captain." She teased trying to lighten the mood.

"Why don't you take the rest of the day to yourself." He suggested flashing her a thankful smile. With a smile of her own and a quick nod Isabel headed for her room. Once their she took a shower and changed into more comfortable clothes before grabbing her sketchbook, headphones, and phone and heading outside. She smiled brightly as the lake came into view, its clear waters sparkling in the sunlight. Finding a nicely shaded spot near the edge of the water she sat, plugged her headphones in, and began sketching the small island at the waters center as the sound of violins filled her head. She had been drawing for a few minutes when an eratic splashing near the docks caught her eye and she pulled her headphones out to listen. She sprang to her feet as the sound of panicked yelping reached her and she ran for the dock. Once there she could see a puppy trying disparately to swim to shore, but she could tell its energy was fading fast. Without a second thought Isabel plunged into the water, forgetting that it was autumn until the frigid water washed over her. It only took her a few minutes to swim out to the frightened pup, but she knew it must have felt like a lifetime for her as she wrapped her arm around her and headed back to shore. Safely back on solid ground she held the puppy close and rushed back to the compound, her belongings forgotten beneath the tree.

"Isabel, are you okay?" Steve asked in a panic as he raced down the stairs to where she stood in the foyer dripping wet from head to toe.

"Just a little cold." She said moving her arm to reveal the small puppy in her arms.

"Let's get you two warmed up." Steve said as he guided her up the stairs to her room, "You get changed out of those wet clothes and I'll get her dried off. We'll be in the commons area when you're done." With that he took the puppy and left Isabel to change and dry her hair. Finally in a comfortable pair of fuzzy pajama pants and a tank top she made her way to the commons area where a few people had gathered around to see the puppy Steve was currently caring for. No one noticed Isabel's arrival until a shrill whistle sounded from the doorway and the pup ran to her where it was instantly scooped up in her arms. She gave a warm laugh and made her way to the sofa, taking a seat beside Steve as it licked happily at her face.

"Looks like she's thanking you for saving her." Sam said taking a seat on her other side.

"So what kind of dog is it anyway?" Peter asked from his seat on the floor.

"She's not a dog, Peter," Isabel said looking up to find all of her friends staring at her in confusion, "she's a wolf."

"You know Stark's never gonna let you keep her, right?" Nat said from where she leaned against the wall behind them. As if on cue they heard footsteps approaching the room and the faint sound of Tony speaking.

"I'm just saying, maybe it's time we talked about..." Tony's train of thought was cut short as he and Pepper walked into the room to find it full of their friends and, most importantly, a puppy.

"Umm, where did that come from?" He asked pointing at the small mass of fluff on Isabel's lap to which she answered.

"She was drowning in the lake, I saved her." Tony stepped forward to get a closer look at the pup before passing a scrutinizing glance around the room.

"You're all aware that that's a wolf, right?" He asked as Bucky walked in to the room, pausing at the mention of a wolf.

"We know, but I'm not just going to put her back outside. It's cold out and she's clearly lost and alone, I can't just abandon her." Isabel said, a sad look filling her eyes as she looked down at the now sleeping pup. Bucky couldn't help relating to the puppy. T'challa and the people of Wakanda had given him the name the White Wolf and, just like the pup, he was lost and alone; he only wished that he had someone who cared for him the way Isabel clearly cared for the puppy.

"Well...I guess she is kinda cute." Tony said reaching out to pet it, "Alright, you can keep her, but you have to take care of her yourself." He concluded givin Isabel a stern stare to which she rolled her eyes.

"Yes, dad." She joked, but only Bucky noticed her withdraw into herself slightly as the word 'dad' passed her lips.

"Isabel," A voice spoke from the doorway causing everyones attention to shift to Loki who now walked toward her, "I believe these are yours." He said handing her the book and phone in his hands.

"Oh! Thank you." She said. She was curious as to why he had started being so nice to her recently, but at Clint's request she had dismissed her suspicions andcalled a truce with the god of mischief. Now, as he crouched before her and brushed his hand lightly over the sleeping wolf pup, she wondered if she had misjudged him when they had first met. Maybe he really had changed since the battle of New York. Bucky noticed as Isabel's aprehension toward the Asgardian faded and she flashed him a kind smile. He was unsure why the sight of her smiling at the god made him sick, but as he turned to leave the room a sudden thought struck him causing his heart to skip; he wanted to be the only one to make her smile like that. Just outside of the commons area he leaned back against the wall and swept his hair back, letting his hand come to rest atop his head.

"So, what are you gonna call him?" Peter asked.

"I think I'll call her...Snow." Isabel replied after a moments contemplation.

"Wouldn't a name that makes you think of fall be more fitting?" Sam asked.

"I guess, but I'm sort of naming her after someone." She replied catching Steve's attention.

"Who?" Peter asked. All eyes turned to Isabel as she smiled softly down at the pup and brushed her hand through its fur.

"Someone I care about." She said simply. At her comment Steve turned toward the door to find Bucky was now gone, unaware that just outside in the hallway the other super soldier stood frozen, a hand clutched over his racing heart. Still crouched before Isabel, Loki lifted his gaze ever so slightly to better see her face and wondered if she was refering to him and, if so, did she know what he truly was? Only Isabel truly knew who her new companion was named for and her smile widened as her fingers sunk into the wolfs dark fur, thinking of how it reminded her of the mans dark hair.


	4. Chapter 4

As Isabel crawled under her covers her hand instinctively found Snow curled up beside her on the bed and she smiled as her head found her pillow and she began to drift off to sleep. It had been almost a week since she had saved the wolf pup and she had found that Snow's nightly presence at her side had lessened the intensity of her nightmares. Now when her father and grandmother asked her to go with them she found herself smiling as she told them that she couldn't go yet, that she had people she had to make sure were taken care of first. That particular night, however, her dream had changed quite drastically. Rather than the tormented memories of her past Isabel found herself at the little breakfast table in the kitchen of her mothers house. As she looked out the bay window at the river that ran behind the house and the old pavillion by the boat house her father came to sit across from her. Instead of speaking of death they basked in the warm yellow rays of sunlight filtering through the window and Isabel told her father all about her new teammates and her new puppy. With ever sentence her fathers smile would grow a little more until he finally reached across the table to put his hand over hers.

"You seem happy, sweetheart. Maybe being with these people will be good for you." He said and her own smile grew with a warmth she didn't know she coud feel anymore.

"They're all so amazing, daddy. I wish you could meet them." She said with a sad sigh as her smile faltered before fading away completely with his next question.

"Do they know?" He asked taking on a serious tone. Frowning deeply Isabel hung her head and stared at the table.

"Daddy...I-I haven't even told mom and Ty yet. The only ones who know are Clint and Nat, and I think Clint's starting to hate me for making him keep it a secret." She admitted.

"Isabel Nevaeh Tanis," her father spoke her full name which made Isabel's head snap up in attention, "you need to tell them, especially your mother and brother. From what you've told me it sounds like these new friends of yours might be able to help." Her father's tone was still serious, but she could see that his eyes were filled with concern. Her head hung again as tears began to well up behind her eyes and she shook her head.

"I can't. I've tried telling mom and Ty, but every time I freeze. If I can't tell them, how can I tell the team?" She asked.

"What about Loki and Bucky?" Her dad asked. Isabel's head shot up at the mention of the two men and she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks.

"What about them?" She asked, trying to play dumb, but as always her dad easily saw through it and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"From what you've told me it seems like you're becoming close to them, don't you think they deserve to know?" He clarified. Isabel pulled her hand from his as she quickly sat straight in her seat and frantically shook her head.

"No! They're the last people I want to find out!" she said quickly before calming herself enough to continue, "It's hard enough letting Clint and Nat carry my burden, but I could never put them through that. Loki's already lost so much and Bucky... Bucky's been through enough pain in his life; I _never_ want him to find out." Her eyes were filled with deep sadness as she spoke of Bucky and her dads hand once again found hers.

"He's the one you want to take care of, isn't he?" He asked. As his daughters eyes shifted from his face to her hands he could see her face growing red and knew he had struck a cord.

"I can't let him know; not if it means he'll be hurt when I go." She said almost to herself as the dream began to fade away and she could feel herself starting to wake. Within an hour of waking Isabel was showered, dressed, and headed to the gym with Snow ever present at her side.

"Morning, Wanda. Morning, Viz." She greeted as she stepped into the kitchen to find the couple making themselves breakfast.

"Good morning, Isabel." Vision greeted in return.

"Would you like some breakfast?" Wanda offered, revealing a skillet full of eggs and bacon.

"No thanks, I just stopped by to get a bottle of water before heading to the gym for training." Isabel said with a polite smile, but was confused as the two shared their own look of confusion.

"I'm afraid Captain Rogers forgot to inform you; everyone is gathering in the meeting room before Thor and Loki return to New Asgard." Viz clarified.

"Oh." Isabel said looking down at her gym attire which wasn't exactly suitable for a meeting with the team. Without a word Wanda pulled off her long, off the shoulder sweater leaving her in a tank top as she tossed the sweater to the other woman.

"Go ahead. You can return it to me after." She said as Isabel slipped the sweater on and shot her a quick smile in thanks before rushing to the meeting room.

"Wait here." She told Snow before slipping quietly into the room. She was immediately met with the sound of Thor's booming voice letting her know that her entry had not gone unnoticed.

"Isabel, what do you say to joining us on out trip home?" He asked drawing everyones attention to where she now stood at the door. He eyes widened in surprise at the sudden question and the only response she found herself able to form was a simple 'What?".

"Thor wants to know if you'd like to take a few days off to go with them to New Asgard." Nat clarified as the Asgardian king rose from his seat and made his way over to Isabel.

"It would do our new friend good to expand her knowledge as well as take time to rest from Rogers' endless training." He said putting his arm around her shoulders.

"Wait, you mean I'd be going off world?" Isabel asked, a wide smile spreading across her face.

"Yes," Loki said as he too rose and approached her, "I'm certain you would fit in nicely with our people." His smile pulled up at the corners slightly as he took in her appearance, but as she crossed her arms and looked up at him he knew she had something quickwitted to say.

"Oh, but I thought they weren't your people, mister frost giant." She said with a grin. Thor was surprised when, rather than lashing out at the young woman, his brother simply smiled wider and gave a courtious bow of his head acknowlaging that he was indeed correct. From his seat by Steve, Bucky tensed at Isabel and Loki's close proximity to one another which did not go unnoticed by his best friend.

"If she goes, I think someone else should go with her. I think it would be best to have someone there to haave her back if an type of combat situation occurs." Steve said as everyone shared the same understanding look. Most of them still didn't trust Loki entirely and didn't like the idea of their new teammate being alone with him on another planet. Sure Thor would be there, but he had his people to worry about and couldn't afford to spend all of his time looking after Isabel.

"I would love to see New Asgard. I'll go get ready." Isabel said with an excited smile.

"Exellent! We'll meet you on the lawn in thirty minutes." Thor said as she raced out of the room and back to her bedroom to pack her bag. Half an hour later she stepped out the front doors of the compound to find everyone gathered around Thor and Loki, but as she stepped forward to join them at the center of the circle Bucky also stepped forward, a backpack slung over his shoulder.

"Bucky? What are you doing?" She asked as she stood between him and Loki.

"Everyone decided to send me with you. Steve said I needed a break after what happened on our last mission." He said only glancing at her from the corner of his eye, but the wide smile that had found its way to her face made the corners of his lips twitch up into a smile of their own. From her other side Loki scowled at the super soldier and shifted closer to Isabel, but his action went unnoticed by the young woman as she stared up at Bucky still smiling. The tense air of the situation, however, did not go unnoticed by Steve, Clint, or Natasha as she ex-S.H.I.E.L.D agents stepped forward to stand beside Steve.

"I'm not so sure this is such a good idea, Steve." Nat admitted as she watched her life long friend standing between a god and one of the most deadly assassins to ever live.

"That's why I'm sending Buck with her; he'll keep her safe." He said as he too watched the trio.

"Steve, I know you're seeing the same thing I am; what if Loki tries something? I don't think either of them are thinking very clearly. Maybe we should tell Isabel not to go." Nat said, her worry for her friend coming through clearly in her tone.

"Nat, this might be good for them. Clearly there's a lot going on between those three that needs to be resolved." Steve reasoned.

"Don't worry, if anything happens Isabel can handle it." Clint piped up as Nat shot him a warning glare which he opted to ignore.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Isabel said suddenly, drawing everyones attention as she gave a sharp, shrill whistle. Within seconds Snow was at her feet panting and wagging her tail happily. With a smile Isabel picked up the puppy and patted her head before walking over to Nat.

"Can you take care of her till we get back?" She asked, to which her friend simply smiled and nodded taking the pup from the other womans arms.

"We'll see you all in a few days." Steve said passing Bucky a meaningful look before the four of them disappeared into the light of the bifrost created by Thor's axe. It felt as though only a moment had passed before the rainbow of light around them disapated and the four of them looked around at their surroundings.

"Welcome back, your majesty." A darker skinned woman said as she walked over to them.

"Valkerie, it's good to be home. How is everything?" Thor asked giving her a warm hug as they headed toward the village a short distance away. Isabel, Bucky, and Loki followed after the pair and Isabel's widened in excitement as they entered the village.

"The first of the crops have been planted and we've finished diverting the stream to the village, but construction's been slowed considerably. Korg and Meek keep getting distracted playing with the children." Valkerie explained, stopping abruptly as the rock man and his insect friend came in to view ahead of them. She shifted her gaze up to Thor with an exasperated sigh.

"See what I mean?" she asked before turning her attention back to the pair currenty playing with some of the Asgardian children, "Hey, I thought I told you two to get back to work! If you don't stop mucking about we'll never get the houses done and everyone will have to keep living on the ship!" She was about to storm toward them when Thor stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Valkerie, I may have a solution to this problem." he said turning her to face the three standing behind him. The woman shot Loki a sharp glare, but as she looked to Isabel and Bucky her expression softened.

"These are two of my friends from Earth; this is Seargent Barnes and Isabel." Thor introduced as Bucky shifted uncomfortably.

"You can just call him Bucky. It's nice to meet you." Isabel said as she shook the other womans hand. Valkerie's eyes flitted from Bucky to Isabel then to Loki and back and you could almost see the wheels in her head turning.

"You know these two are silently fighting over you, right?" She said abruptly causing Isabel's breath to catch in her throat as she quickly looked between the two men. Loki's entire body tensed and Bucky had begun nervously shifting his weight from one foot to the other as they both avoided looking at her, but what really surprised Isabel and Thor alike was that neither of them denied Valkerie's claim. Isabel felt her face flush as she realized that the other woman may actually be right, but as she considered how flattering that would be another thought rose in her mind making her heart sink as she shook her head.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken, Bucky and Loki are just my friends." She said with a sad smile as all four of her companions gave her a surprised and mildly concerned look. Valkerie understood the young womans look all too well and changed the topic to showing them where they would be staying deciding it best to leave their previous subject alone. With the last few hours of daylight Thor, Valkerie, and Loki showed them around the village before they all settled in to their rooms for the night. Isabel had been so excited to see New Asgard that she had forgotten about her nightmares until she was alone in the dark and she hoped desperately that she would be able to make it through the nights alright as she drifted off to sleep. Loki on the other hand had remembered her nightmares and slipped in to the room almost as soon as she was asleep. For the first hours or so everything seemed fine, but as more time passed Isabel became restless and Loki considered leaving. Just as he reached the door Isabel shot up in bed with a terrefied scream, her eyes clouded with panic as Loki raced back to her side.

"Isabel, it's alright." He said softly, his hands folding around hers as she slowly calmed, but Isabel didn't have time to question his presence in her room as another scream sounded from down the hall. As the sound of objects breaking reached them a sudden realization struck Isabel causing her to leap from the bed and race from the room, leaving Loki in a confused daze to follow a few moments later. She ducked as she threw the door to Bucky's room open and rushed toward him as he continued to throw things and slam his fists into the walls. Thor and Loki filled the doorway as she reached the super soldier who instinctively lashed out at her in his terrified haze, but Isabel easily dodged his swing and held up her hand letting the two Asgardians know to stay where they were as they prepared to intervine. Finally close enough, Isabel reached out to cup Bucky's face in her hands feeling him still almost instantly at the contact.

"Bucky! Bucky, look at me! It's alright; it's Isabel! I'm right here just calm down!" Her words were panicked as she tried desperately to calm him before he hurt himself, the danger to herself not even registering in her mind at the moment. She could see the fearful look in the mans eyes as they darted frantically around the room in a look she knew all too well; he was searching for a way out, something to ground him. Rising onto her toes she placed her forehead against his and peered deep into the blue pools of his eyes.

"Stop, Bucky, please stop." She whispered softly as she watched the fear slowly fade from his eyes as tears began to well in the corners of her own.

"Isabel?" He asked quietly as his eyes finally found hers. As he finally came back to himself he noticed the tears at the edged of Isabel's eyes and drew back suddenly to look around the room he had recently destroyed. His eyes widened at the broken furniture scattered around him and his hands went up to tangle in his hair as Isabel watched him carefully to make sure he wasn't about to start lashing out again. Bucky's mind was a blur as his thoughts raced, but one thought rang through clear as a bell. _She saw all of it!_ His mind screamed as he collapsed to his knees and covered him face as quiet sobs began to wrack his body. Stepping forward Isabel knelt before him and drew him forward, cradling his head against her shoulder as she hugged him tightly. For a moment Bucky considered running away and hiding somewhere that Isabel would never have to see his violent side again, but the fact that the woman was there at all rooted him to the spot as his hands fell away from his face to wrap securely around her. Back in the doorway Thor and Loki watched the scene unfolding and Loki's face fell into a deep frown.

"Why do you frown brother? Isabel has just proven how strong she truly is, to handle Seargent Barnes so calmly..." Thor said enthusiastically, but was cut off by his brother who watched the pair in the room with sad eyes.

"Valkerie was right, he has feelings for her...and she shares his affections, though she won't admit it." He said softly. Thor's own expression fell slightly as realization dawned in his eyes.

"And you love her as well." He stated, half expecting Loki to deny it or lash out at him, but as the other man remained silently watching their friends Thor knew that he was correct. Meanwhile, Bucky's mind continued to race, but now the thoughts were clear as if his mind were screaming at him. _Isabel just saw the remnants of the Winter Soldier! She was in the room! I could have hurt her! I could have killed her!_ The last thought caused his grip on her to tighten slightly as he began to tremble in fear.

"Maybe coming here was a bad idea." Isabel spoke only to him, but Loki felt a knot of jealousy form in his stomach as the true meaning of her words struck him. She was talking about going home to Midgard, but more importantly she was talking about going home with Bucky.

"Thor, is there any way you could put another bed in my room?" Isabel asked to their surprise. Bucky was the only one who didn't give her look of confusion as he had fallen into a numbed state in her arms.

"Of course; brother, come help me with this." Thor said pulling Loki away from the doorway. A few minutes later they stood outside Isabel's room watching as she helped Bucky down the hall.

"I don't like this." Loki mumbled and crossed his arms as they drew closer.

"Of course not; you're jealous." Thor replied with a grin that only grew as he saw his brother twitch uncomfortably. They fell silent as Isabel guided Bucky into her room and over to the newly added bed.

"Sit." She gently instructed. He never said a word as he sat and she lifted his legs up onto the bed, guiding him to lay down before pulling the blanket up over him. A flicker of panic sparked in his eyes as she turned back toward the door and his fingers curled cautiously around her wrist. She turned back to him with a soft smile and placed her hand over the one at her wrist.

"It's alight, I just need to talk to Thor. I'll be right at the door. Try to go back to sleep." She said as he slowly let go of her wrist, his eyes never leaving her as she made her way back to the door.

"Thank you." She said looking up at Thor.

"Thank you for handling the situation; I'm afraid I would not have handled it as well as you did. I trust you can take care of it should another instance like this arise, so I'll bid you all goodnight." He replied before headding back to his own room. Loki and Isabel watched him go until he had turned the corner at the end of the hall before either of them spoke.

"Loki, how were you in my room so quickly when I woke up?" Isabel finally asked shifting her gaze back tothe raven haired man beside her, "You were already in my room weren't you?" He remained silent unsure if she was angry with him or not.

"Ever since I arrived at the compound I've felt like someone was watching over me while I slept. It was you wasn't it?" She asked giving a heavy sigh when he still refused to speak.

"I don't know what I've said in my sleep, but, anything that you've heard, please don't tell anyone. i have enough people worrying about me as it is; I don't need any more." She said, giving him a pleading look. The look in her eyes made his chest clench in anguish as it told him the truth behind her lie. She was hiding something, something that made people worry about her and, though she denied it, she knew their worry was justified. He could see how heavily the weight of this secret weighed on her and how desperately she wanted to tell others, but, as he had just witnessed, she would willingly protect others over herself. Instinctively he reached out to cup her warm cheek in his cool hand and was surprised when she didn't pull away.

"Why do you worry so much for others, yet never for yourself?" He asked giving her a sad look as he slowly leaned closer. They were only inches apart when Isabel finally lifted her hand between them, covering his lips with her fingers.

"Loki...I'm not very old, but my short life I've learned some of the greatest truths of the universe. Once thing I know above all else is that there are some things that should be protected and some things that should be forgotten. Our friends, Bucky, our families they should all be protected, but me...I'm one of the things that's best left forgotten." She spoke with such onviction that Loki's hand fell away from her face and he stared at her in shock as she turned and returned to her room.

"That's not how I see it." He said softly to the closed door before walking back to his room. Just inside Isabel let out a heavy sigh and made her war to her bed, surprised to find a gun lying on her pillow.

"Just to be safe." Bucky said from the other bed as she picked it up and inspected it. After a moments contemplation she pulled the clip and removed the bullet from the chamber before pulling a lock box from her beg and placing the clip inside.

"What are you doing?" Bucky asked sitting up in bed.

"I'm not going to shoot you." She said turning to face him as the lock on the box clicked closed.

"Isabel..."He began warily, but she cut him off with a stern look.

"No matter what." She insisted as she climbed into her bed and sat the gun on the stand beside her. Bucky was quiet as he laid back down and the silence seemed to envelope them until he spoke again.

"Thank you." he said drawing her attention as he rolled onto his side to face her, "It's been a while since I've had any nightmares; I guess it's tge stress of being on a different planet."

"We could always go home if you want." Isabel replied. Bucky felt his chest tighten as the word 'we' escaped her lips, but he pushed the feeling aside.

"You know...you're not the only one who has nightmares." She said and he could almost see the sad look on her face even in the dim light of the room. He knew that she must have nightmares about her dads death and the thought of her beautiful face twisted and contorted in fear made him frown; he wasn't sure he coukd bear seeing her like that. Briefly he had the thought of waiting until she was asleep then finding Thor and asking for another room if only to avoid the possibility of hurting her, but, as if he had spoken his thoughts aloud, he felt Isabel's hand find his in the dark and his eyes quickly shifted to her face. The room wasn't very large and the beds were close enough together that their hands now rested over the two inch gap between their mattresses.

"Please don't go." Isabel asked barely above a whisper as her eyes slowly slid shut. Although part of him still feared for her safety Bucky found himself unable to deny her request and carefulky laced his fingers with hers resigning to watch over her until he too drifted off into a deep sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

( _AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'd like to apologize for the long delay in posting this chapter. I wanted to post this chapter much sooner, but was having trouble with the end. I'm going to try and get the next chapter out as quickly as possible, but I can't give a definite time frame as I am currently working on other stories. I would also like to let everyone know that my Descendants story has temporarily been put on hold as I'm having trouble with tthe story progression. In the mean time I have started working on an X-Men fanfiction will be posting the first chapter of that story by the end of next week. Thank you for your patience and understanding._ _Cheshire)_

The next morning Isabel awoke to the sound of knocking on her door, but as she moved to answer it she found something holding her in place. Looking up she discovered that at some point during the night Bucky had aparently moved closer to her and currently had his arms wrapped around her holding her close to his chest. Carefully she tried once more to roll out of his arms only to have him let out a small groan and tighten his grip ever so slightly. Isabel could feel the heat rising in her cheeks as the knock at the door sounded again and she leaned back enough to see Bucky's face; he looked peaceful as he continued to sleep and Isabel felt a small twinge of guilt that she was going to have to wake him. As the knock sounded again, a little louder this time, she looked back at the door and sighed.

"Just a minute." She called and felt Bucky's arms tighten around her again. Turning back to face him she smiled softly and placed a hand on his shoulder giving it a tiny shake.

"Bucky? Bucky, it's time to get up." She whispered. With a disapproving groan he leaned down to nuzzle his face into the crook of her shoulder and she felt her heart begin to race as her breath caught in her throat.

"Bucky, there's someone at the door, I need to get up." She coaxed despite her mind screaming at her to ignore the door and just stay there with him. Reluctantly Bucky loosened his grip around her and allowed her move his arm aside as she slid out of bed. She shivered at the loss of warmth and made her way to the door opening it to find Loki standing just outside.

"Sorry about the wait." She said with an apologetic smile though she noted how Loki's eyes immediately swept past her to the man lying half way over onto her bed.

"Thor sent me to tell you breakfast is ready." He said still staring at Bucky. Isabel could see a spark if anger in his eyes and began chewing her bottom lip nervously as he peered into the room.

"A-alright, we'll be there in a few minutes." She replied, stepping to the side to block his view. As Loki finally looked at her she could swear she saw a hint of sadness in their emerald depths, but before she could know for sure if it was sadness he turned on his heel and headed off toward the kitchen. Closing the door she turned back to the bed, her heart fluttering in her chest as she took in Bucky's sleeping form, his hair falling over his face and his arm so invitingly lying across her mattress. Part of her wanted desperately to climb back into his arms and never leave, but she knew that her actions the night before had already put her in a precarious situation.

"Bucky, it's time to get up; Thor says breakfast's ready." She said shaking him lightly until his eyes slowly slid open. The sight of his teal blue eyes clouded by the haze of sleep made her heart ache and she quickly withdrew her hand from his arm to turn and look out the window. Noticing her strange behavior Bucky sat up in the bed and was about to question her when he realised he was lying half way on her mattress.

"I didn't push you off the bed did I?" He asked quickly.

"N-no, I slept fine...great actually." She admitted, still looking out the window.

"Thor said breakfast is ready, so I'll see you in the kitchen." She said rushing from the room. Once in the hallway she made her way to the kitchen where Loki and Valkerie sat at the table while Thor piled everyones plates with food. She tried to calm herself as she took a seat across from Loki and Bucky the seat across from Valkerie a moment later, but she felt her anxieties rising as Loki glared dagers at the soldier.

"So, anything interesting happen last night?" Valkerie asked, breaking the tense silence that had fallen over the room. Isabel felt the color drain from her face at the question and shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"No." Loki hissed. They could all see she was about to say something else, but fell silent as Thor shifted a disapproving look her way. The rest of their meal was spent discussing what they needed help with and as Isabel rose from her seat to go get dressed Thor stopped what he was saying to hand her an ornate silver box.

"Some of the women wanted to make you a gift. They also asked if you would mind lending a hand with the children; they're very curious about you and we figured it would be a good distraction to keep them out of trouble." He said as she looked over the box.

"Of course, I'd be happy to help. I love kids." Isabel said, leaving them with a happy smile as she went to her room to change. Her eyes went wide as she opened the box Thor had given her and pulled out an Asgardian style dress before putting it on. Once she had finished getting dressed and taking care of her morning routine she headed back to the kitchen to meet up with the guys and Valkerie, but as she entered the room all of their jaws dropped.

"What do you think?" She asked watching the skirt of the dress billow out around her as she gave a light spin. Valkerie simply smiled as Bucky tensed in his seat and Loki's jaw went slack in awe, neither men registering when Thor turned to the young woman with a smile of his own.

"You look lovely, Isabel. Asgardian attire suits you well." He commented as Valkerie leaned toward Loki still smiling.

"You may want to close your mouth before you catch a bug." She whispered, surpressing a laugh as the raven haired man was snapped from his daze.

"We should be getting to work brother." He stated as he rose from his seat, being very careful not to look at Isabel as he left the room to wait outside. A short time later he was joined by his brother and their friends before they all headed into the village. Isabel looked around at her surroundings as they walked, too preoccupied to pay much attention to the others, that is until Bucky spoke from beside her.

"You look nice." He said glancing sideways at her as she turned to smile at him.

"Thanks. You know, for a long time I never wore dresses; I guess I finally realized it didn't matter what others thought of me though." She said as she hugged the book the was carrying to her chest.

"Anyone who thinks you shouldn't wear a dress is an idiot. You look beautiful." Bucky said a bit sharply, but it was the last part of his statement that caught her off guard. For a brief moment she considered asking him about his choice of words, but decided it best to leave it alone as she figured he was simply being nice. Ahead of them Loki flinched in anger as he overheard their conversation, wanting desperately to turn around and punch he other man, but Thor's booming voice sounding beside him stopped him before he did anything stupid.

"Isabel, this is Lena; you'll be helping her today with the children." Thor informed as the older woman stepped forward and bowed her head slightly in greeting.

"It is a pleasure to meet you. I can't tell you how thankful I am to have some help with the children while you're here." She said with a pleasant smile.

"It's so nice to be here; I'm happy to help." Isabel replied with a smile of her own. A short time later Isabel and Lena went off to attend to the children while her four companions set to work helping with the construction of a house nearby. Hours had passed and the children were gathered around Isabel as she read them The Wizard of Oz when one little girl suddenly spoke, cutting her off mid sentence.

"Miss Isabel, does this story have any songs?" She asked. Isabel looked up in slight surprise, but a soft smile came to her lips as she set her book aside and answered the little girl.

"Yes, would you like to hear it?" She asked, laughing lightly as the childens' ecxited nods. Bucky was helping Thor lift a large log when a faint sound cauht his attention. As he stopped and litened closer he realized he recognized the tune and began to follow it until he came to the edge of the clearing nearby where Isabel sat with the children. He didn't even realize that Thor, Loki, Valkerie, and even some of the vilagers had followed him as he listened to Isabel's angelic voice. Her eyes were closed and her lips were drawn into a bright smile as she sang the final words to 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow', unaware of her enlarged audience until people began clapping and cheering. The unexpected sound snapped her back to attention as her eyes shot open in surprise, a deep blush painting its way across her cheeks when she saw that the small group of children was now flanked by quite a few adults including her friends.

"I had no idea you could sing!" Thor's voice boomed as he helped her to her feet. Isabel was stil smiling as she the others stepped forward and she diverted her gaze by busying herself brushing invisible dirt frim the skirt of her dress.

"My mom used to sing that to me before bed; I guess I just picked it up after hearing it so many times." She explained simply.

"I think he was more surprised by your voice. Even I have to admit it's hauntingly beautiful. I don't think I've ever heard anyone sing like you just did." Valkerie clarified, causing the younger woman to blush even more. Isabel simply smiled sheepishly, but her glances to Bucky didn't go unnoticed by he rest of the group. The almost impercievable action made Loki's jaw clench and his hands ball at his sides, but it was the way Bucky smiled back at her that pushed him over the edge and before anyone realized what was happening he rounded on the soldier punching him as hard as her could in the jaw. The children around them scattered in a frenzy of fearful shrieks and even the adults fled from the clearing knowing what was possible when their prince was enraged. Isabel's jaw dropped in shock as Bucky brought his arms up in front of himself and ducked his head to defend against Loki's onslaught of punches, but Thor and Valkerie broke from their dazes first and rushed forward.

"Brother, control yourself!" Thor ordered, still surprised to see his brother acting out in such a raw and unchanneled display of anger. Loki had always been he more rational of the two, planning out every move he made like a game of chess, but what they were now seeing was the complete oposite. Loki was acting purely with the sole intent to hurt Bucky and was unable to form any other thought as he continued his attack even as Thor and Valkerie faught desperately to pull him back. Each time they pulled him away he simply shrugged them away and returned to his target who, much to Thor and Valkerie's surprise, refused to fight back. It was Isabel who finally brought the conflict to a screeching halt as she rushed forward, placing herself brtween the two men, though she remained unnoticed by the furious god until her hands landed against his chest. His mind had only just registered her pressence when a sudden crushing force slammed into his chest knocking him from his feet.

"STOP!" She screamed, just as the force sent Loki sprawling into the grass nearly five feet away. The three Asgardians turned their bewildered gazes to the young woman to find tears streaming from her tightly closed eyes and a strange blue energy surging and twisting around her hands. Realizing that the attack had stopped Bucky had lowered his arms and was also staring at the woman before him in disbelief. Each of them were about to ask their own questions when Isabel's eyes suddenly snapped open, zeroing in on the fallen prince.

"What is wrong with you?!" She shouted, tears still streaming down her face as she turned on her heel and fled the clearing, leaving her four companions more confused than they had ever been. As she disappeared from view Loki sprang to his feet to chase after her, but Thor was quick to stop him as he clamped a firm hand down on the younger mans shoulder.

"Something tells me you're the last person she wants to be around right now." He said stepping past him.

"But I..."

"You've done enough!" Thor silenced his brothers protest before turning to Bucky and giving a meaningful nod. No words were needed as Bucky took off in the direction Isabel had gone and Loki felt a strange mix of guilt and jealousy settle intself in the pit of his tomach. He felt guilty for upsetting the woman he cared so deeply for, but found himself jealous that the man he hated had been sent to console her. As Thor turned to him with a stern expression he knew that what he was seeing was not his brother asking what had happened, it was a king _demanding_ an explaination, and he gave a heavy sigh as he sat on the ground and braced himself for the daunting task of trying to explain that he, the god of mischief, was in love with a woman from Earth.

Bucky didn't say a word as he opened the door to Isabel's room and made his way over to the bed where she lay clutching a pillow to her chest as she sobbed violently into it. Taking a cautious seat beside her he decided to wait patiently until she chose to speak of her own accord.

"I told Clint that it was a bad idea to have me join the team; I told him it would only make things worse." She finally said as the sobs began to die down to ragged, gasping breaths. Bucky remained silent to allow her to explain when she turned just enough to have her cheek resting on the side of the pillow as she peered into his eyes.

"I knew I should have run as soon as I saw the compound. Why did you all have to be so nice to me?" She asked, though it sounded more like begging. Bucky was unsure how to reply, only aware of the ache in his chest, as he saw tears begin to pool in her red rimmed eyes once more.

"Why does living with all of you have to be so nice? Why can't I just disappear and let it be over with?" Her last question had been more to the universe itself than him, but Bucky knew he needed to ask.

"Get what over with?" He asked, meeting her gaze once more. Both her sobs and tears seemed to stop abruptly as she weighed her options before giving a heavy sigh and swinging her feet past him off of the bed.

"I suppose, now that you know I have powers, it's only a matter of time before you find out the rest." She said as she grabbed her bag from beside the night stand and quickly located what she was looking for. Bucky was confused at first as she placed the simple silver bracelet on her wrist, but as she turned her palm to face the cieling a display much like those Tony used popped up abover her hand.

"Clint and Nat insisted that I tell Shuri and as a result she made me this." her eyes stayed fixed on the bracelet and display as she continued, "This bracelet monitors my vitals, pulse, blood pressure, everything, but this is the important part." She said pointing to a line in the display that came up in a sudden sharp point.

"This line here measures my delta brainwaves and that spike there was when I used my powers." she glanced at Bucky to find him staring at her in confusion and gave a resigned sigh before continuing, "Maybe I should start from the beginning."

She paused and Bucky could feel how tense she was, but he waited patiently for her to continue wanting truly to understand what she was talking about. As he waited his mind raced and he found himself wondering just how long Isabel had intended to keep what she could do a secret.

"See, I'm what people call a mutant. I have something called the mutant X-gene, it's an anomaly in my DNA, that allows me to do what I do. I was twelve when my abilities first manifested; I was so scared until my parents found someone who could help me understand what was happening. When we went to speak with Professor Xavier he explained that my mutation allows me to project and manipulate energy fields; even mold them into weapons if necessary. The private school that I told you I attended, the one that I left to help my dad, was a special school for people like me. Professor Xavier helped me learn to control my abilities, but it wasn't until right before I went home that we realized that my abilities came at a price." Here Isabel paused to look at Bucky who watched er thoughtfully, letting her words sink in. His silence made her faulter and she chewed her bottom lip nervously as she debated weather or not to tell him the rest of her story. Sensing her hesitation Bucky cautiously placed his hand over hers encouraging her to go on. With a soft smile Isabel took a shaky breath and continued with the sad truth of her life, but she was surprised to find that she felt relief in finally telling someone aside from Clint and Natasha.

"Professor Xavier explained that the mutant X-gene is a hereditary gene pased down from one or both parents, but when he had my parents DNA tested to see which parent I had recieved it from we found out that neither of my parents were carriers. We still have no idea where my mutation came from, but Dr. McCoy had a theory that my mutant X-gene was somehow man made. We still don't understand it, but what we did find out is that my mutation is unstable. The energy I can control is created by my own body, but every time I use it it's like a resivoir. When I use some of the energy it's like a hole forms inside me and my body creates more energy to fill it, but the energy I'm using at the time doesn't get expelled when I stop using it. It gets absorbed back into my body on top of the new energy; it's like steadily over inflating a balloon." She clarified at Bucky's confused expression. His eyes traveled down to her lap as he felt her hand begin to tremble and he laced his fingers with hers to let her know to continue when she was ready. He could see the tears building up in her eyes again as she tried to calm herself.

"My mutation...every time...every time I use my abilities the energy builds and it's..." she stopped to take a shaky breath and as her eyes closed tightly and her tears began to flow once more Bucky braced himself for what was to come, "My abilities are killing me; that's why I don't use them" She sobbed releasing her hand from his as she covered her face in a feeble attempt to hide her tears. Bucky felt as though he had been struck by lightning as her words played over and over again in his mind until a sudden thought hit him.

"You weren't going to tell any of us were you?" He asked though he knew the answer even before Isabel shook her head.

"It was bad enough that Clint and Nat knew; I didn't want to burden anyone else." she said just above a whisper, "My mom and brother don't even know. My dad was the only one I told and that was right before he died. I didn't want them to have to face my death too."

"I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to, but eventually I think that you should. Everyone back home cares about you, you're one of us now." Bucky paused, wondering if he should say the rest of what was on his mind, until it dawned on him that this could very well be his only chance, "I care about you." He finally admitted not only to her but to himself as well. His words hung in the air until Isabel turned slowly to look at him with wide eyes.

"Why? I'm a walking train wreck; why would someone as amazing as you burden yourself by caring about someone like me?" She asked. Bucky couldn't help but chuckle as he shook his head in amusement.

"Here I thought it was the other way around. I guess we're both messed up in our own ways, but that's not gonna stop me from caring about you." He laughed before becoming serious again as he took her hand in his, "My point is I care about you more than I ever thought I could, but that thought scared the living hell out of me when we first met and I tried to keep you at a distance. Even though I kept trying to push you away you kept pushing right back and you ended up saving me on our first mission together." Isabel flinched as she thought back to that day and still wished she had killed the HYDRA officer when she'd had the chance. Squeezing her hand Bucky drew her attention back to him and continued.

"I got so mad that day because you had gotten hurt doing something to protect me and I had just stood by and let it happen. It wasn't until you rescued Snow that I realized just how much you had gotten to me though." He admitted with a sheepish grin.

"Bucky? What exactly are you saying?" Isabel asked though she knew what he meant, she wanted to hear him say it out loud. Bucky's eyes peered deep into hers as he felt a wave of panic and fear wash over him as if he needed to be physically connected to her in some way or she would disappear. Isabel was caught slightly off guard as Bucky wrapped his arms tightly around her and simply held her for a few moments before pulling back to look at her face again.

"I don't know how long you have, and I don't want to know. All I know is that I love you and I want to spend however long you have with you." He said before closing the small gap between them and pressing his lips to hers in a tentative but passionate kiss. Just outside the room Loki's hand hovered over the handle and he felt a mixture of defeat and regret settle over him as he heard the last of the conversation taking place inside. Withdrawing his hand he gave a dejected sigh and turned to leave as he was forced to accept that he had waited too long and lost a fight he hadn't even realized he was fighting.


	6. Chapter 6

AUTHORS NOTE: First of all I would like to extend my deepest apologies to my loyal readers; I know I'm behind on posting this chapter and I apologize if any of it seems rushed. I've had a lot going on recently with work and family, but I am still trying to update as quickly as possible. I would also like to let everyone know that I will be alternating between updating this story and my X-Men story so be sure to keep an eye out for more chapters of that as well. As always please feel free to leave reviews or message me with any thoughts you have reguarding my work, also please feel free to notify me if you notice any gramattical errors as, in my rush, I am not doing y usual proofreading of this chapter. I hope you all enjoy the latest chapter.

Isabel's head was swimming as Bucky held her close, his lips still firmly yet gently pressed to hers, until a single thought brought her elation to a grinding halt.

"N-NO!" She suddenly cried out as an energy field formed around her allowing her to slip from his arms and make for the door.

"Isabel, wait!" He called as he jumped up from the bed, but she only paused long enough to glance back at him with a look of absolute heartbreak and defeat.

"I'm so sorry." She said as tears poured from her eyes and she bolted from the room. She wasn't sure how long she had been running or where she was running too, but as she finally opened her eyes she found herself standing before an imense cave. As she stood gaping at the massive entrance a low growl rumbled forth from within and the very ground beneath her feet began to shake as she heard something inside begin to make its way out. She was frozen in place as the alien creature emerged and she took in its startling appearance. It looked like a strange cross between a stag and a mountain lion; its shaggy brown fur was matted in places, long antlers swept back over its shoulder, and its long legs ended in large clawed paws. It didn't seem to notice her at first as she slowly backed away, but with one small misstep a twig suddenly gave a loud crack under her foot and the creatures head snapped in her direction. She froze once more as its scrutinizing gaze swept over her from head to toe and for a moment it looked as if the creature were simply going to ignore her and walk away. Isabel felt relief start to wash over her only to realize what a mistake it was as she let out the breath she had been holding. Caught off guard by the unexpected noise the creatures head shot up before it let out a blood curdling roar and charged at her. Her mind went blank as it closed in and, just as it swung one of its massive paws at her, her hands flew up to blast it back with an emense energy wave. She had just enough time to watch the creature flee into the forest before the wave of energy came crashing back on her as it absorbed back into her body knocking her unconcious with the force of it.

"Dad?" Isabel questioned as she cautiously stepped into her mothers kitchen.

"Hey, sweetheart, how have you been?" Her father greeted with a warm smile as he turned from the stove, but seeing his smile only made Isabel's heart clench in her chest. His expression fell to one of confusion as tears poured from her eyes and she rushed forward hugging him tightly.

"Hey, hey, hey! What is it, babydoll? What's wrong?" He asked, carefully guiding them to the table and helping her into a chair. It was a few minutes before Isabel had collected herself enough to be able to speak though her tears continued to flow.

"I told him; I told him everything!" She sobbed.

"W-who?" Her dad asked.

"Bucky!" She cried as if he should already know, her head snapping up so her desperate gaze met her fathers. He swayed slightly as though her cry had physically knocked him off balance before taking a seat beside her.

"Well, what did he say?" He asked as she braced her elbows on her knees and cupped her face in her hands.

"He...he said he loves me and wants to be with me for however long I have left." She explained, he entire body shaking as she cried.

"And what did you say?" Her dad asked, his curiosity growing.

"I didn't say anything. He kissed me and I...I ran." Isabel said surprising him.

"I'm confused, I thought you had feelings for him." Her dad stated leaning forward to place a hand on her leg. However, he quickly removed it and leaned back in his chair as she jumped up a began pacing about the kitchen.

"I do; I've loved him for a while now! God, I love him more than you can imagine!" She finally confessed, but gave an exasperated groan of frustration at her fathers next question.

"So, why did you run?" He asked.

"Dad, I don't even know how long I have left! It could be years, months, days; hell, I could be dead right now for all I know!" She was nearly shouting now, but that didn't stop her father from pointing out the obvious.

"Trust me, babydoll, if you were dead you would know it." He said crossing his arms over his chest. As her eyes snapped back to him he could see that her mind was runnung on one track as she opened her mouth to argue, but as he crossed his arms over his chest he could see her eyes light up with recognition as she came back to herself slightly. With a heavy sigh she settled back into her seat beside him, staring at her hands for a long moment as she thought over what to say next.

"Dad, I'm dying, how can I let Bucky be part of that? When you died it devastated mom and us. Bucky's been through so much already, dad, I can't put him through that kind of pain." She explained, finally calming down a bit as she turned to look at her dads face.

"Sweetheart, whether you like it or not he's already part of it. I know it's not what you wat to hear, but, in my honest opinion, you're afraid." He said simply.

"Of course I'm afraid; I'm afraid of hurting him." Isabel sighed, but her dad was quick to shake his head in disagreement.

"That's not what you're afraid of; you're afraid that he'll make you happy. That's what you've been afraid of ever since we first found out; you're afraid to let yourself be happy." He reasoned.

"That's why I don't want to mix him up in this. I don't want us to be happy only for me to leave him all alone and broken when I'm gone." She said as her mind swam with memories of her mother after her fathers suicide.

"Babydoll, you know I won't tell you what to do, but you also know I'd never tell you something that wasn't what I honestly thought. I know that I'm to blame for you being so afraid to get close to him. I know you have that fear of leaving him alone because of what I did, and I'm truly sorry for that. I know I can never take it back, but I can still give you my advice and hope like hell you take it." her dad paused long enough to make her look up at him before continuing, "I think you need to take a chance on him. I may not have been around very long after Dr. McCoy told us what was happenig, but I still remember how you started closing yourself off. You dropped all of your friends from Xavier's, all of your friends from home, the only friends you kept were Natasha and Clint. You need to let people in again, you need to let people care about you again, and, most importantly,...you need to tel your mother." Much to his surprise, Isabel didn't argue, instead she sat in quiet contemplation for what seemed like a very long time until she felt herselt coming out of the dream.

"Fine, but if things go bad you have to promise you'll take me away." She said softly as the edges of the dream started to blur around her. Her father simply smiled at her before disappearing with the rest of the dream.

"We'll see."

His whispered words echoed softly in her mind as she slowly came back to consciousness and her brain started working in overdrive to take in everything around her. Her eyes were still closed as she heard the soud of medical machines beeping beside her and the steady drip of an IV. It was the feeling of the extremely comfortable pillow beneath her head and the nightgown she wore in place of a hospital gown that let her know she was in the medical bay at the compound rather than in an actual hospital. She was about to open her eyes when the sound of the door opening stopped her and she chose instead to simply listen for a bit longer.

"How is she?" It was Steve's voice that followed the sound of the door closing. It wasn't until then that she realized there must be someone else in the room with her and her mind searched for anything that might indicate who it was. Her train of thought stopped as it came to focus on the feeling of something wrapped gently around her right hand, tears pricking at the backs of her eyes as she recognized the object as a very distinct metal. Again the door opened, grabbing her attention as another person entered the room and approached her bed.

"Any change?" Bruce asked from her left. Again there was no reply, but she could hear as Steve took a tentative step closer to the foot of the bed.

"Why don't you go get some rest, eat something." Steve suggested, but his words were met with a flat 'No'.

"Buck, it's been three days, you at least need a shower." He prodded, but this only seemed to iritate Bucky as his metal hand tightened ever so slightly around Isabel's.

"I'm not leaving until she wakes up, Steve." Bucky's voice sounded dry and hoarse as he spoke and Steve gave an exasperated sigh indicating that this wasn't the first time they had had this disussion.

"I'll bring you some food." He said in defeat as he left the room.

"You have to find a way to fix this." Bucky said almost as soon as the door clicked shut.

"I promise you, we're doing what we can. Shuri and Helen are in the lab now running through every possible solution they can think of." Bruce informed and Isabel could hear the pity in his voice before he too left the room.

"Please, wake up, Isabell." Bucky said softly as he leaned forward to rest his head on their intertwined hands, "I can't lose you; I need you. Bruce and Helen and Shuri will find a way to fix this and everything will be alright, it has to be alright." His desperate plea made Isabel's heart clench in her chest and for a moment she wished that she could slip back into her dream and ask her father to take her away and just let go of it all to keep from making everyones pain worse. It was her promise to her dad that made her finally open her eyes and look over at the man beside her.

"Steve's right, you do need a shower." She said with a soft smile even as she faught back the tears that still threatened to spill over her lashes. Bucky's head shot up at the sound of her voice and the sight of his red-rimmed eyes made her chest ache again despite the twinkle of relief shining in their depths.

"You're back." He breathed, voice almost breaking as he struggled to push the words past the lump in his throat.

"We're back home." Isabel stated trying to avoid making eye contact as she looked around the room.

"Loki found you unconscious in the woods; we came back when you didn't wake up by morning. I...we thought you were dead." Bucky said, drawing her attention to him as he squeezed her hand gently. It was the broken and empty expression on his face that finally broke her and the tears she had been holding back began rolling silently from her lashes as she returned the gesture.

"Bucky, I-I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I ran I just..." she paused briefly to collect herself, "I've avoided letting anyone get close to me ever since I found out the price of my power. I didn't want you to get hurt."

"Isabel, you could never hurt me." Bucky reassured, but it only made her cry more as she shook her head.

"Bucky, I'm dying and as much as none of us want to admit it Bruce, Helen, and Shuri might not be able to fix it. I've seen what the death of someone you care about can do to a person; I've felt that pain. You've already lost so much, I dont want you to have to feel that pain again when I'm gone." Isabel reasoned.

"Isabel, I can handle the pain."

"But you don't have to; you can still end this before anything else happens." She pleaded. Bucky's eyes fell to their hands as he shook his head before looking up at her again.

"But it's my choice, Isabel." he said moving to sit on the edge of the bed, "It's my choice and I'm choosing you." Isabel couldn't help the strangled sob that escaped her as his flesh hand released hers to caress her cheek and wipe away a tear.

"When I escaped HYDRA and started getting my memories back it was hard for me, especially when I realized that most of the people I ever knew were dead." Bucky's eyes had drifted down to his lap as he spoke and Isabel instinctively reached up to take his hand that now rested on her shoulder, "My parents, my siblings, Steve was the only one I had left. That knowledge broke me and I gave up on ever being happy again; then you came in to my life. You made me hope that maybe, just maybe there was a light at the end of the tunnel. The last thing I expected was to find out you were dying, but now...all I want to do is spend what time I can making sure that you know how loved yout are." As he finished speaking his gaze shifted back to Isabel as she simply stared at him, processing everything he had just said. After a long moment Bucky moved to pull his hand away, taking her silence as another rejection, but as he shifted to move off of the bed she suddenly sat up throwing her arms around his shoulders.

"I don't want to be alone anymore." She whispered as she hid her face in his chest. Lifting her chin with his finger he smiled warmly as he closed the small gap between them and hesitantly pressed his lips to hers. Sensing his fear that she would run again Isabel tentatively moved her lips against his and smiled as she felt him relax into the kiss.

"You don't ever have to be alone again." He assured as they broke the kiss, letting their foreheads rest against one another. It seemed like the world around them had stopped as they lost themselves in the moment, but the tranquility was interrupted as they heard a soft chuckle from the doorway.

"Told you letting them go off world together was a good idea." Clint said, nudging Natasha as the pair turned to look at the two agents.

"Shut up, Clint." Isabel said with a soft laugh as she tossed a pillow at him which he knocked away with a simple swipe of his arm.

"Here, I thought you might want something a little warmer to change into when you woke up." Nat said stepping forward to hand Isabel the clothes she had brought.

"Why don't you go ahead and get a shower, I'm gonna head up to my room and do the same. Don't worry, I'll be back by the time you get out." Bucky said, getting up from the bed to follow their friends out of the room. Isabel smiled after him until the door closed before making her way to the shower where she was surprised to find someone had already taken the liberty of getting her shower essentials. A heavy sigh of relief escaped her as the hot water cascaded over her relaxing her tight muscles. She wasn't sure how long she simply stood under the water before actually moving on to cleaning herself, but as she shut the water off she frowned at the loss of warmth. She was happy to find that Natasha had brought her one of her favorite winter outfits and she couldn't help but smile as she slipped into the faux-fur lined leggings, fuzzy slipper boots, and knitted sweater her mother had made for her.

"Wow!" Bucky breathed as she stepped out of the bathroom, "You really are beautiful." He said, coming to a stop before her and reaching up to brush a strand of wet hair from her eyes. She smiled at him momentarily before her expressionbecame somber and her eyes drifted down to his chest.

"Bucky," she said softly as she subconciously reached for his hand, her fingers twitching nervously as they wound around his, "I...I need your help with something. I want...I-I need to tell my mom; will you come with me when I do?" Her eyes darted back to his face as she waited anxiously for his reply.

"Of course." He replied pulling her in to a warm hug. They were quiet as they left the room and headed upstairs, but Bucky could tell that keeping her secret from her family was finally beginning to take a toll on her as he watched her chew her lower lip nervously.

"Hey," he said softly, drawing her attention to him as he lifted her chin with his finger, "when do you want to go see your family?"

"I...I was kind of hoping...to go see them for Christmas. My brother and my nephew are going to be there so..." She trailed off, but Bucky understood that she wanted to tell her brother too.

"Christmas? Won't they wonder why you're showing up with some random guy for the holidays?" He tried to joke and was happy to see a small smile come to her face as her eyes drifted downward to their interlocked hands.

"Actually...I-I've sort of been writing letters to my mother since I came here." She admitted, looking up to sheepishly meet his gaze.

"Oh? You've told her about me?" He questioned, only recieveing a coy smile in reply. Over the next few weeks Isabel and Bucky only grew closer as she told him about her family and he told her about his past. By the time Christmas arrived Isabel found herself falling more and more in love with the metal armed Avenger and, as much as she hated admitting it to herself, her entire world seemed brighter. There was only one problem, aside from her powers, that still cast a dark shade over her now happy life; the God of Mischief.


	7. ANNOUNCEMENT

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE**_ _Hello everyone, just wanted to give you all an update and le you know what's been going on. First off I'd like to apologize for not posting a new chapter recently, however I am working on it. Due to family and health issues I haven't been able to write as much as I would like, but I want to assure everyone that I am still working on both of my stories as well as some others. Now that my work hours are increasing again I'm afraid I won't be able to update as often, so each story will be updated once a month so that I can work on all of them. If I'm able to post more often I will, but there will drfinitely be a monthly update to each story so be sure to favorite them and check back often. Thanks for the understanding and much love to all of my loyal readers._ _~Cheshire_


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